


When the Fountain of Youth Runs Dry

by Legendary5



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Angst, Female Runner Five, Forgiveness, Gen, Immortality, Light Angst, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 19:45:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17127584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendary5/pseuds/Legendary5
Summary: "Believe me, I'm not a hero. I just... I felt I needed to make amends, to clear my conscious."Post S6, M3. Sam Yao and Peter have a chat about forgiveness, heroism, and starting over.





	When the Fountain of Youth Runs Dry

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 Zombies, Run! Secret Santa, and gifted to n-dayqulin. 
> 
> Takes place after Season 6, Mission 3, -- spoilers through that mission -- mainly because I always wanted to explore what happened after Peter revealed that he was actually Simon. Also, I love Peter; he's so snarky, but he's harder to write than I thought, and I hope I did him (and Simon) justice.

There was something about the newly cleared, filled, and rebuilt Abel Township Training Grounds that gave Peter a sense of peace. Perhaps it was because it was something he had helped to build, rather than destroy. Like he had nearly destroyed Abel the last time he was here, as Simon.

Simon Lauchlan, the man who had thrown away everything for a chance at immortality. That was Van Ark had told him at the time – live forever while the rest of the world died. And like a fool, he had taken it. Endured the painful treatments when it was believed that he was running special errands for Abel Township, running back and forth between Abel and the lab with little tidbits of information, all for one more sip from the Fountain of Youth. And he'd paid for it. When he realized that he had finally gained immortality, he hated himself for what he'd become. It was why he'd taken the neural net from Five and put it on his own head....

In his mind now, it was easier to separate Simon from Peter. Simon was a traitor, a man who had hurt others – his friends, his fellow Runners – because he was scared to die at his peak. In Peter's mind, Simon died on top of the Comansys tower in London all those months ago. Peter, while not a saint, was the opposite; he wanted to help Abel Township, first with restoring control to the people of Able, and now by helping save the King, and find Janine....

In many ways, though, Peter felt this was penance for living as Simon had lived; a half life, a cursed immortal life. Always living, never dying. Could he change it all someday?

“Soooo..... Peter? Or Simon? Is it okay to still call you Simon?”

Peter looked up at the sound of Sam's voice, eyebrow raised slightly. “And you're asking because...?”

Sam sighed. “Look.... What you did with Van Ark, and killing all those people – Sara, Archie – I want to – I can't be angry about all that. You saved Five and Maxine at the Ice Cream Tower, and you saved Paula from the Ringmaster. You found Noah Base for us, and helped us take Abel back from the Minister. You've....” Sam trailed off, unsure of what else to say.

“Are you saying I've redeemed myself enough to be let back into the fold?” Peter asked. “You know, coming from you, that's....” He paused, trying to think of the right words. “It's a relief, actually; I was expecting you to tell me to get the hell out of dodge as soon as I'd told Jamie who I was. I know Janine will send me off as soon as she finds out.”

Sam looked shocked at Peter's choice of words. “I don't think we would have thrown you out,” he insisted. “And if anything, Janine was more heartbroken about not having had the chance to say a proper goodbye to you before everything that happened with Moonchild. When we find her, she'll be all over you, wondering why she didn't figure it out before.”

“But what about – you know...” Peter gestured to himself.

“What, you mean the fact that you came back like the phoenix from Harry Potter and saved our bacon about a dozen times?” Sam asked.

“Putting it that way, you make me sound like a hero, Sam,” Peter muttered. “Believe me, I'm not a hero. I just... I felt I needed to make amends, to clear my conscious. But I was scared that, if I came back to Abel, you'd run me out of town. So I hid.”

“You didn't need to hide, Simo-Peter; I think we kind of already knew,” he admitted. “Or at least, some of us suspected. You dropped some hints – knowing about Jody's love of knitting, not to mention your face when you saw Janine again. And Five, well, Five told me that Moonchild got a bit chatty when you first came across our radar.”

“This won't be like last time, Sam,” Peter whispered. “I promise you... I never thought Van Ark would go after Five. Sigird will have to kill me permanently to get her hands on Runner 5.”

A nearly forgotten memory came to his mind: Runner 5, half-running, half-limping towards Abel, a leather rucksack flung over her shoulder, along with her ratty old backpack. Simon approaching her, lowering his gun, shouting in his ear.

_“Stop shooting, you idiot! That's Runner Five!”_

_“Oh, sorry! Good thing I always shoot wide, eh?” He gave Five a proper look over this time._

_There was blood everywhere. Blood on Five's clothes, her shoes. She was limping, favoring her right ankle, and her legs were covered with scrapes and dirt. There was also a cut on her shoulder, and her wrists were bloody from something – handcuffs, maybe – that had been tightened around her wrists and had pulled her along._

_“I didn't recognize you for a minute, Five. Looks like you've had quite a time of it.”_

_His tone had been jovial, but his tone hid the anger he felt about what had happened. No one else was supposed to get hurt._

“Five was the Minister's target a long, long time ago,” Sam replied. “She tried to shoot down Five's chopper when Five first came to Abel. Van Ark couldn't have known; from what we've been told, they never contacted each other after the outbreak. She followed the nationally held belief that Van Ark was the mastermind of the zombie apocalypse, but truthfully....”

As Sam spoke, Peter's mind wandered to a conversation he'd had with Van Ark.....

_“What did you do to Runner Five?” Simon spat as he stormed into the lab. “You promised no one else would be hurt.”_

_“Did I really?” Van Ark asked. “I don't recall saying as much. I said that if you could keep Abel and New Canton away, no one else would be hurt.”_

_“But you lured Five and Maxine to you!” Simon choked out. “You – Five didn't deserve any of that!”_

_What happened with Runner Five was purely a result of her own actions. And as you've all probably figured out by now, she's no worse for wear. A few scrapes and bruises, a little bit of blood, but overall, perfectly healthy.”_

_The worst part was how clinical Van Ark was about the whole thing. And Simon had hated that._

_We all know it was your fault,” Simon barked. “This! The zombies, the end of civilization – everything! It's all your fault!”_

_Van Ark had laughed at Simon's accusation._

_“That's where you're wrong, young Simon. I didn't start this, but I will finish it. You'll see. You're a part of the solution now.”_

_Anger forgotten, Simon gave Van Ark a quizzical glance._

_“What the – ?”_

_“It was a complete accident, how this whole zombie apocalypse affair started,” Van Ark stated. “I am simply... saving the rest of humanity from joining the ranks of the undead.”_

_“But why only those you deem worthy?” Simon asked._

_“The world still needs scientists, doctors... bodybuilders,” Van Ark replied. “It's not that everyone is worthless, but that some people are worth less than others. You'll understand when this is over, Simon.”_

“...and that was how she was able to get it all started.” Sam finished. “You okay?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I just... I was thinking...”

“About?”

… “Mostly about Van Ark, but also something Janine said,” Peter said. “She said she forgave me for what I did, that you all had.”

Sam nodded. “We did,” he agreed. “It took you... dying to save the entire planet, admittedly... but we eventually forgave you.”

“And now that I'm back,” Peter asked. “Do you still forgive me?”

Sam sighed. “You know, I was so angry with you after all that, but... after everything you did.... I mean, it's hard to stay angry at someone who's sacrificed his life for you how many times, and still came out swinging. So yeah, I forgive you. We all do.”

The two men shared a smile, watching as the last rays of sun fell over the horizon to the west, quickly plunging Abel into darkness.

“The training grounds look good,” Sam commented. “You wouldn't think that just a few months ago, they were a watery, zombie-infested mess.”

Peter nodded. “We did good. And it was nice to build something for a change. Reminded me of the days before the apocalypse, when I built my gyms.”

Sam nodded, making to stand up. “Does this mean....?”

Peter sighed.

“Sam,” Peter began. “I know you mean well. You're a good person that way. But...” he sighed again. “I'm Peter Lynne now. This is a chance for me to start over, to be a better person than I was before. Not many people get this chance. As far as anyone is concerned, Simon Lauchlan died that day in London, on top of the Comansys tower.” He also stood, searching Sam's eyes.

Sam nodded. “I hear you, Peter. Thank you.”

“No Sam, thank you.” Peter replied.


End file.
